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Frank Taylor Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

Frank Taylor, the director of new business and development for Taylor Made, knew that there was an acute labor shortage in Kentucky, with farms unable to find reliable help. But Taylor thought he had a solution. Identify those who were struggling with substance abuse problems, put them into a recovery program and, when they are ready, teach them horsemanship skills that can make them candidates for jobs throughout the industry. Thus, Taylor created Stable Recovery, a rehabilitation program, and the Taylor Made School of Horsemanship.

What he didn't know at the time was whether or not farms would be willing to take a chance on individuals that had been in prison and/or struggled with drug addiction. He soon found out. His programs have been embraced in the Lexington area and several graduates have landed steady jobs and have moved on to meaningful lives.

Taylor joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to talk about his programs and their many success stories. He was this week's Green Group Guest of the week.

Taylor said he arrived at the idea of starting the program when confronting his own alcoholism.

“Once I did it and quit, I started feeling better,” he said. “I was having more fun than I've ever had. It was that that kind of spurred me on to start the School of Horsemanship. It was going to be a 90-day program to teach the basics of horsemanship, to get people started off at, say, a groom level, either for Taylor Made or another farm. I had kind of a tough sales job. I went to my brothers and said, 'I've got this idea, I want to bring in a bunch of heroin addicts and alcoholics and felons in here to work with these horses.' They were looking at me like I had two heads. I just wanted a chance to make it work. They were reluctant because there were a lot of concerns. But here we are, 3 1/2 years into it. We have had a hiccup here or there, but not many. I really think we have changed a lot of lives. We've introduced a lot of people to the horse business and trained a lot of people. The results have been amazing.”

The program has been so successful that Taylor would like to expand, but, for now, it's a matter of one step at a time.

“If we wanted to have 500 people in this program by the end of the year, that wouldn't be a problem,” he said. “We need the space, money and management. The need for something like this is way beyond what we can serve at this point and always will be. It's just such a crisis and a terrible situation. It's destroying society, is destroying families. It's just absolutely one of the worst epidemics in the history of mankind. The beautiful thing is, is we have that huge problem and that we have a huge problem with labor in this country. If you blend those two together, they can help solve each other.”

It's been proven that working with horses can solve all kinds of problems for people, whether that be soldiers suffering from PTSD or individuals with drug issues. Taylor knows that the horses deserve a lot of the credit for the success of these programs.

“The horses, they are like the secret sauce for stable recovery,” Taylor said. “That's something we have that other recovery places don't have. I was born into the horse business and I love horses and they're my passion. But I didn't really realize how therapeutic horses were or understand that part of it until I started seeing people that are broken interacting with those horses and seeing the peace and joy that comes to them immediately. It's just an amazing thing.”

In the stallion spotlight segments, the podcast featured Coolmore's Corniche, who stands for just $15,000. The focus was also on Improbable, who stands at WinStar Farm for a fee of $15,000.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association,https://www.kentuckybred.org/https://www.nyrabets.com/ 1/ST Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, https://www.winstarfarm.com/and XBTV.com, the team of Randy Moss, Bill Finley and Zoe Cadman delved back into the Bob Baffert ban at Churchill Downs, which also extends to the GI Kentucky Oaks, which means the impressive winner of the GIII Las Virgenes S. Kinza (Carpe Diem) will be shut out. Moss agreed that the Derby week races might deserve an asterisk if Baffert's horses are all banned, but he argued that it's not too late for Churchill to change its mind and to lift the Baffert ban. The team took a look at the GII Risen Star S., to be run this Saturday at the Fair Grounds and all agreed it will be by far the deepest Derby prep run so far this year.

For the podcast video, click here. For audio only, click here.

The post Frank Taylor Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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In Sierra Leone, Brown May Have Best Chance Yet to Win a Derby

Chad Brown's barn includes a lot of fillies and is dominated by turf horses, which makes winning the GI Kentucky Derby more challenging than it is for trainers like Todd Pletcher, Brad Cox and Bob Baffert, who seem to have an almost endless supply of ammunition. The future Hall of Famer has started just seven horses in the Derby and the best he has to show for it is a second-place finish in 2018 with Good Magic (Curlin). But that doesn't mean the right horse won't come his way, and this year may be the year.

Brown may have the favorite in Saturday's GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds in 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), who checks a lot of boxes. Sold for $2.3 million, he was the sales topper at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and has since given every indication that he can compete at the highest level of the sport. He broke his maiden in November at Aqueduct and then ran second in the GII Remsen S., losing by just a nose. The Risen Star will mark his 3-year-old debut.

“The Derby, it's one of the few races we haven't won and it's definitely right there at the top of the list,” Brown said. “We have a very diverse group of horses to work with. There's a big split between fillies and colts and within those groups are the turf horses. What it boils down to is we don't have many horses in that division. I have plenty of nice horses to work with. I'm not complaining by any means. Any one would love to have the horses I get sent. Once you start paring them down, to see what dirt colts you have that can run two turns and have ability, well, for us, the group isn't huge. If we end up with two or three horses that are on the trail by the first of the year, we are lucky.”

Brown will probably always focus primarily on turf horses, but that obviously didn't bother the Coolmore team. They arrived at the 2022 Saratoga sale eager to spend money. Not only did they buy Sierra Leone, they also paid $1.4 million for Hall of Fame (Gun Runner), who will also start in the Risen Star for trainer Steve Asmussen. If Coolmore continues to support Brown with expensive yearling purchases that will make his chances of winning a Derby all that much easier.

“Will Coolmore keep supporting me, I think that has to be determined,” Brown said. “A lot depends on how these relationships unfold and how successful we are or aren't with this particular horse. I've had horses from them in the past. Not many, but nice horses. Minorette (Smart Strike) was one of the first horses they sent me and we won the Belmont Oaks on the turf with her. I've done a lot of business with Coolmore. I have several stallions standing there: Jack Christopher, Practical Joke, Early Voting. I've always had a great business relationship with them and, occasionally, they have sent a horse or two my way. They like to spread things out and use top trainers all over the country. I'm just happy I'm in that group of trainers.”

After the maiden win, Brown thought Sierra Leone was ready for a challenge. He entered him in the Remsen, knowing the competition would include Dornoch (Good Magic), the full-brother to 2023 Derby winner Mage. For Sierra Leone, it was on oddly run race. On what was a speed-favoring track, he dropped far back early, trailing the field for most of the way before he started to roll on the far turn and set his sights on Dornoch. Inside the sixteenth pole, he put his head in front of Dornoch and it looked like race was over. But Dornoch came again and came back for the win.

“I was a little disappointed,” Brown said. “I thought the second time out he'd show a little more speed. You also have to factor in that sloppy track. He had never been on a track like that and maybe he was caught off guard by that. He was the only horse that day that made up any ground and that's an important thing to note. He really wasn't unlucky. He had every chance to win. He just lost some focus and allowed that other horse, who is a nice horse in his own right, to re-rally on him. I was pleased with the effort though disappointed by the outcome.”

Because Sierra Leone appeared to lose his focus in the Remsen in deep stretch, Brown will equip him with blinkers on Saturday.

With Brown based in Florida over the winter, the most logical spots for Sierra Leone's return may have been the GIII Holy Bull S. or the GII Fountain of Youth S. But Brown feels that the Gulfstream racing surface is a bad fit for Sierra Leone and that's why he has shipped him to Fair Grounds.

“I didn't like the short distance and short stretch of those two races at Gulfstream,” he said. “I had Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) for example. He was a nice horse and nearly won the Preakness, but he ran terrible at Gulfstream. He didn't like the kickback. The kickback at Gulfstream, according to a couple of jockeys I really trust, is that it is a very challenging kickback for a horse to run through. That probably contributes to the appearance that it is a speed-favoring track. Even if they slow the track down, so to speak, it still seems like it's dominated more by front-running horses. I think the kickback has something to do with that. It's just not anything I'm interested in putting this horse through.”

The Risen Star will be the first step in what Brown hopes is a progression that will have his horse at his very best come Derby Day.

“We decided to use just two preps, which is always risky,” Brown said. “I thought, all things considered, like his running style, I feel like his third race of the year will be his best race. And that is a big if because there is a lot of training and racing to still overcome.”

Brown's best two Derby horses have been Good Magic and Zandon (Upstart), who was third in the 2022 Derby. Does Sierra Leone represent his best chance yet?

“I won't say that he's my best threat yet,” Brown said. “Those two horses were really good horses to take into the race. I'd say he belongs in their group, but he's got a ways to go to get to the point where we know he's going to be one of the first two choices in the Derby. I think he can get there. He has the potential to do it. He's training great and he's the right kind of horse. We are really excited about him.”

Brown has a few other horses that could get him to the Derby. Domestic Product (Practical Joke) was second in the Holy Bull. Good Money (Good Magic) broke his maiden at Tampa Bay Downs in his lone start. Tuscan Gold (Medaglia d'Oro) is coming off a maiden win at Gulfstream. But none, at least at this point, compare to Sierra Leone.

“When they give you a horse that cost $2.3 million at the sales, yes, there's a little bit more pressure,” Brown said. “The expectations are certainly high, being that he was a sale-topping yearling at the prestigious Saratoga sale, and rightfully so. The expectations should be high.”

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Derby Future Wager 4 Opens Friday

The Pool 4 future wager for the GI Kentucky Derby will open Friday and will close Sunday. The 39 individual 3-year-olds listed in the future wager field are led by Grade I winner Locked (Gun Runner), who is 10-1 on the morning line. “All other 3-year-olds” is the wager's 2-1 morning-line favorite.

The fourth of six future wagers opens at noon ET Friday and closes at 6 p.m. Sunday. Click here for the complete field.

Other future wager dates are set for Mar. 15-17 and Apr. 4-6. The lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager will coincide with Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 5.

The post Derby Future Wager 4 Opens Friday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Week In Review: It’s Not Just The Derby; Now Baffert Has Top Oaks Candidate As Well

Saturday's GIII Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita was a big test for the Bob Baffert-trained filly and 'TDN Rising Star' Kinza (Carpe Diem). She was coming off a scintillating maiden win in which she got a 96 Beyer, but was facing a much stronger challenge in the one-mile stakes. Not only did she have to prove she could go two turns, but she was facing another potential star in the undefeated Kopion (Omaha Beach), the winner of the GIII Santa Ynez S.

On paper, this was a match race. But Kinza turned it into a one-horse show. She only won by two lengths, but at no point did it look like Kopion could pass the front-running Baffert filly. Kinza got a 93 Beyer to cement her status as the fastest 3-year-old filly in training.

Under normal circumstances, this performance would have stamped Kinza as the clear early favorite for the GI Kentucky Oaks. But there is nothing normal about this year's Oaks or, for that matter, the GI Kentucky Derby.

Kinza, a New York-bred, won't be allowed to run in the Oaks because Baffert was banned by Churchill Downs shortly after Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for betamethasone after crossing the wire first in the 2021 Derby. The same goes for his colts. A week earlier, the Baffert-trained Nysos (Nyquist) looked like Triple Crown-winning material when crushing his opposition in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. Baffert also has 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic), the winner of the GII San Vicente S. and runner-up in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Nysos and Muth are one-two in the NTRA's 3-Year-Old poll. He also has 'TDN Rising Star' Maymum (Frosted), an impressive maiden winner who was entered in Sunday's sixth race at Santa Anita.

In past years, most of Baffert's owners turned their horses over to other trainers, most notably Tim Yakteen, which made them eligible to run at Churchill. But this year, in a surprising display of loyalty, not one Baffert owner took a horse away from him. They put their loyalty to Baffert over their dreams of winning the Kentucky Derby.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Baffert's Churchill ban was originally for two years, which meant he was supposed to be free and clear to run horses there this year. But on July 3, 2023, out of the middle of nowhere, the company announced that it was extending Baffert's ban at least through the end of 2024. It was a shocking development and it was unfair. Baffert's original penalties, which also included a 90-day suspension from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and a one-year ban from NYRA, were extremely harsh as it was considering the worst thing Baffert had done was to have positives that stemmed from overages of medications that in no way could be considered performance-enhancing. Since being handed the various suspensions and bans, Baffert has done nothing wrong. He has not had any more positives. He even went so far as to announce on Jan. 22 that he and Medina Spirit's owner Amr Zedan had dropped all legal actions regarding the Derby disqualification. It was an obvious peace offering, but one that was quickly and decisively dismissed by Churchill, which announced that the dropping of the lawsuits changed nothing. Baffert was still banned for, at the very least, all of 2024.

This time, Churchill had gone too far. There's no doubt that their battle with Baffert had turned personal and when that happens, fairness and reason get tossed out the window. Punishing the trainer remained the priority.

But now the script has flipped. That no Baffert horses, no Kinza, no Nysos, no Muth, no Maymum, will appear in Derby week stakes at Churchill will hurt Churchill a lot more than it will hurt Baffert. These will be races that will require asterisks because they did not include some of the best 3-year-old talent in the country.

One theory was that the ban was extended because Churchill didn't want Baffert's return to overshadow the festivities being planned to celebrate the 150th running of the race. It looks like Churchill never imagined that the Baffert owners would effectively boycott the Derby. But that's exactly what has happened. And one of the results of that is the very situation Churchill had hoped to avoid is now going to happen. The major storyline all week will not be the 150th renewal of the race or whoever emerges as the main contenders. It will be all about the missing stars from the Baffert barn, the impact that will have on the race and how it has weakened this Kentucky Derby and this Kentucky Oaks.

There's nothing anyone can do about it now. It's too late for Churchill to reconsider, not that they ever had any intention of doing so. The shot has been fired and it hit squarely in the corporate foot of Churchill Downs Inc. This was all so unnecessary. All they had to do was let Baffert back after the two-year ban ended. Instead, they kept moving the goal posts and double downed on what was a dubious punishment in the first place. This Derby and this Oaks will not be what they should be and Churchill has no one to blame but itself.

Oh, well. At least it should be a good GI Preakness S.

Maymun | Benoit

John Pimental Doesn't Get a Break

HISA/HIWU resolved its case against small-time trainer John Pimental last week. He has been handed a 15-month suspension and a fine of $10,000 for possession of banned thyroid medication, Thyro-L. Pimental also has an outstanding case against him for a methamphetamine positive. So he may be facing still more serious penalties.

You can read more about his story and his case by clicking here.

Yes, the rules are the rules and Pimental was not careful and did not properly dispose of the thyroid medication, even though he had a prescription to administer it to a stable pony. As for the methamphetamine positive, it almost has to be the result of human contamination. The bottom line is that the punishment does not come anywhere close to fitting the crime. John Pimental is not a cheat or a horse doper. At the very worst, he's guilty of not being careful when it came to the Thyro-L.

Yes, HISA/HIWU is a work in progress and since HIWU got off and running last May, they have altered some of their policies and have been less draconian when it comes to catching and penalizing people for drug violations.

But they haven't come far enough and the Pimental case is a prime example. By no means did he do anything to warrant a 15-month suspension and a $10,000 fine.

HISA needs to hire a Vice President of Common Sense, someone who understands racing, understands what is cheating and what is not, and can put the brakes on the organization when they go after people like John Pimental.

A Loaded Risen Star

With the exception of Mandaloun (Into Mischief), who was awarded the win in the Kentucky Derby after Medina Spirit was disqualified, the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds has never produced a Kentucky Derby winner. That could easily change this year as the 2024 edition is loaded with talent. Trained by Chad Brown, Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) is a $2.3 million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga purchase and will be favored. He was last seen closing from last to just miss by a nose in the GII Remsen S. He is clearly Brown's best chance yet to add a Derby win on to his record.

He'll have to come into New Orleans ready to run as the competition includes Hall of Fame (Gun Runner), also bought at Saratoga as a yearling for $1.4 million, who is coming off an impressive maiden win for Steve Asmussen. Then there's GII Kentucky Jockey Club winner Honor Marie (Honor Code); Smarty Jones winner Catching Freedom (Constitution) and GIII Lecomte S. Winner Track Phantom (Quality Road).

The post The Week In Review: It’s Not Just The Derby; Now Baffert Has Top Oaks Candidate As Well appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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